Bruins’ visit to Stanford a ‘big-time’ opportunity

For the first time in weeks, the entire country will be awake for UCLA football.

Four of the No. 9 Bruins’ five games this season have kicked off at 7 p.m. or later. This Saturday, they’ll head up to the Bay Area for a 12:30 p.m. game on ABC.

Better yet is 13th-ranked Stanford’s status — despite an upset to Utah last week — as a perennial BCS bowl contender, a reputation it earned under Jim Harbaugh and has maintained under David Shaw.

Shaw was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in both of his seasons as head coach. Knock off the Cardinal, and UCLA’s Jim Mora could be in line for one such award, too.

Those national title aspirations also become a little more realistic. The Bruins haven’t been afraid to talk about those goals, but they’ll need to dethrone the defending Rose Bowl champs first before gaining more believers.

“This is what I like,” quarterback Brett Hundley said. “These kind of games are sort of what I feel like I’ve been born to play in.

“Every game is big, but these games mean a lot, They really do. As far as team, and legacies and stuff like that — these are big-time games that everybody will look back on. We’ve just got to come ready.”

UCLA (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) still may harbor some hard feelings about its last two games against Stanford (5-1, 3-1). The Bruins lost 35-17 and 27-24 in back-to-back games, with Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 52-yard field goal attempt falling short in the Pac-12 Championship.

Even true freshman receiver Thomas Duarte recalled some of the bitterness. He had yet to officially commit to the Bruins, but watched the games as a recruit.

“They was heartbreak,” he said. “UCLA was there both times. But I believe this week, we’ll be dialed in. We’ll be focused, ready for them. And it’s at Stanford, so that’s even better.”

Pen pals

Hundley has generated some dark-horse Heisman talk this season with his team still undefeated.

The redshirt sophomore got some support from an appropriate source: Gary Beban. The only Bruin to win college football’s top individual honor has mailed Hundley twice, once before the season and again a few weeks ago.

“It’s pretty good to get a handwritten letter from a guy who’s won the Heisman, did some big things here,” Hundley said. “Hopefully I can leave my legacy.”

Got your back

Linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks said their unit — arguably the best in the conference — has built more chemistry as the season went on. Having more than a year’s worth of experience in a 3-4 scheme also has helped.

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Defending one particular run play against Cal on Saturday, Kendricks looked to his right and saw a teammate slide into his assignment exactly as planned.

“They came down and fit it perfectly,” he said. “It was a cool feeling knowing that everybody had your back and everybody’s doing their job.”